Last year local dried fruit company Bella Viva submitted dried persimmons, peaches, pears and oranges as part of their new Pure and Natural line at the Fresno Food Expo, an annual convention to honor the local food industry's leaders in innovation. This year, Bella Viva will be competing for the same honors at the 2014 Expo with their newest product: dried apple slices from the Pure and Natural line which has already been named a top contender.

Camp Taylor, a camp for young people and families of children with heart disease, has grown exponentially since its founding in 2002. Much of that growth has happened in the past three years, not coincidentally following the surge of success of its most famous advocate-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

The personnel of the Turlock Fire Department were called into action more frequently in 2013, more so than the past four years, but at the same time they managed to bring the response times down to levels not seen since 2009, according to the department's annual report.

The historic home of Max and Verda Foster, founders of family-owned company Foster Farms, is a modest one. While the house and surrounding ranch feature fruit trees, a tennis court and simple white-walled buildings that now serve as administrative locations, there is one things that indicates where the third-generation billion dollar company was born: enormous silos towering in the background bearing a large insignia with a big, bright, red number: 75.

Local Boy Scout Troup 21 celebrated Flag Day on Saturday by holding a flag retirement ceremony at the Turlock Veterans of Foreign Wars post. Flag Day is celebrated on June 14. It commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States, which happened on that day in 1777 by resolution of the Second Continental Congress.

As the weather heats up during the summer months, a rise in water use (especially outdoors) is typical for most households. The majority (60% or more) is used on lawns and outdoor landscaping. There are lots of ways to save water at home, but reducing the water you use outdoors can make the biggest difference of all. Here are a few easy ways to change the way you use water outside your home.

Roughly 20 activists with the grassroots organization 99Rise converged on Central Park in Turlock Friday afternoon on one of many stops in their 480-mile California March for Democracy. The march, which was in its 28th day as of Friday, began in Los Angeles and is set to end in Sacramento on June 22 where organizers and supporters are expected to sit in at the capital and demand that legislators acknowledge "Big Money's" role in the corruption of politics.

Parents can rest assured that their children will be safe swimming in community pools this summer as local lifeguards have recently undergone extensive training to freshen up their rescue skills and ensure they can cooperate properly with emergency responders in crisis situations.

A cool breeze greeted guests and vendors at the first night market of the 2014 Turlock Certified Farmers Market season Friday evening as individuals browsed the various stalls for a variety of things from summertime produce to floral arrangements.